Understanding Your Tactic - The Discussion

[Rashidi]

Customizing your screens - absolutely vital in the game. And it allows you to assess your players for each match. I have some for roles to determine who should play where, when i have the time I will pop them here as well

[Cleon]

Customizing your screens - absolutely vital in the game. And it allows you to assess your players for each match. I have some for roles to determine who should play where, when i have the time I will pop them here as well

I'd appreciate that, saves me adding mine

[Babak G]

Does one have to set them up each and every new game or can we save them and import them?

Amazing help by the way. It opens up a whole new world within there for some of us.

[Cleon]

Does one have to set them up each and every new game or can we save them and import them?

Amazing help by the way. It opens up a whole new world within there for some of us.

You can save and import them.

[Rashidi]

Hope you dont mind if i stick these here..better to be in one spot than anywhere else:

This is how I decide attacking roles within a team I place a high value on key attributes such as determination and pace. However for roles such as playmakers and box to box midfielders I am also after first touch, creativity, decisions, flair. Since I have three pivots in midfield I know they need to complement each other with two usually creating the chances.

I then focus on their performance in games via 90mins, cos that gives me a good estimate. Its an average as well, so you need to use good judgement, to make it more interesting for myself I usually link their training performances as well. So when someone does poorly in training I normally give them a pep talk drop em in reserves and challenge them to come back to the first team. Almost always works like a charm. This screen is important for me over the course of a season. I have other screens as well, to analyze my shortlists for scout reports as well, which is why I reckon i probably pick up decent players. One could add passing, but my team players all have like 12 passing, so thats a bit redundant for me now..but you could add passing and tackling to each of them as well..pretty easy.

For my defender roles its basically the same except for this one while i have the attributes, and, since I place such a high premium on survival I need to make sure that these young players are also showing improvements in their defending training areas. Cleon just reminded me that I should EXPORT them, cos i dont normally and I never save them. I just make these as I go, the customizable screens are like a major cheat for me now.

Hope this helps anyone who needs it..I can pop more up and will probably add screens to my blog as well.

[Cleon]

Cheers Rashidi, you saved me a bit of time, I owe you

[celtic1967]

Currently playing as Celtic and using this formation and instructions. Have actually learned a lot from reading your stuff Cleon, so thanks for that!

Been doing well so far, not necessarily dominating games in terms of possession, but in terms of shots I dominate.

However, I am about to play St Johnstone and they are linking up with 5 men in midfield, just straight across the pitch. 3-5-2 formation.

How do I approach this game so that I dont get runover in the midfield? Should I just try to get the ball to my AML and AMR all the time and try to get crosses in ? My 3 midfielders wont have any time on the ball when they get it.

[SD1990]

Quick question, Cleon. With the Treq, do you leave them as the playmaker (unticked) or change it to either no-one or another player in the team? I've been using a similar tactic, same shape, strategy etc but with a DLF (s) and one of the main reasons is due to not necessarily wanting a player so far advanced as the playmaker. I'm worried it will lead to more long balls and losing possession.

[Kung]

both rashidi and cleon should add their views so ppl can dl them would save ALOT of time for ppl who want to try

[Skuli]

That's all I'm going to add for now. I might add other screens when I get time but majority of you wouldn't be interested in them anyways

I'm sure we would

Also have you posted anywhere before about player personalities and what you aim for?

[Cleon]

Currently playing as Celtic and using this formation and instructions. Have actually learned a lot from reading your stuff Cleon, so thanks for that!

Been doing well so far, not necessarily dominating games in terms of possession, but in terms of shots I dominate.

However, I am about to play St Johnstone and they are linking up with 5 men in midfield, just straight across the pitch. 3-5-2 formation.

How do I approach this game so that I dont get runover in the midfield? Should I just try to get the ball to my AML and AMR all the time and try to get crosses in ? My 3 midfielders wont have any time on the ball when they get it.

I'd watch the first 15 minutes of the game to get a quick sense of how they are going to play etc.

Quick question, Cleon. With the Treq, do you leave them as the playmaker (unticked) or change it to either no-one or another player in the team? I've been using a similar tactic, same shape, strategy etc but with a DLF (s) and one of the main reasons is due to not necessarily wanting a player so far advanced as the playmaker. I'm worried it will lead to more long balls and losing possession.

The Treq is the default playmaker

both rashidi and cleon should add their views so ppl can dl them would save ALOT of time for ppl who want to try

No, I have enough spoon feeding my baby. So I don't want to do the same on here for others . To many people want download links for everything. Just create them yourself and make them relevant for your own game

I don't mind discussing things and helping people out, but there will be no download link to anything in here as that takes away from a discussion imo.

I'm sure we would

Also have you posted anywhere before about player personalities and what you aim for?

A long time ago yeah, not sure the thread exists any more though

[Lobby 86]

The next screenshot shows how deep Barcelona are playing when I attack them.

They have everyone back in their own half which is good for me from a defensive situation as it means they can't hurt me. It does mean they are harder to break down but that doesn't matter. If they can't get forward they can't score which is half the battle won already. You'll also notice I have 3 spare players in defence just in case they break away quick.

In the next screen you'll see Messi about to receive the ball from his fullback. He is marked and got his back to the goal so he's no threat at all. He doesn't really have any options to play a pass or to play the ball. I have players positioned who can can deal any threat should he win the ball.

By tight marking through the OI's Barcelona have no creativity in the middle of the park at all. They are doing lots of backward and sideways passes but there not coming out of their own half.

When my side gets the ball they build up from the back and pass it across goal, been very patient.

It seems I've lost some of the potency going forward with the support roles for the inside forwards but it's also keeping Barcelona quiet as they just cannot get out of their own half because I am pushing high up and compacting the middle. At times its like I have a flat 4 in midfield due to the IF's helping out.

This is one of the occasions they attacked me

They can't really hurt me from here and I have the centre covered should Messi get a ball across, which he doesn't in the end anyway.

It's evident early on and for the entire game that Messi's supply is limited and the Barcelona midfield is dropping to deep to try and find the space and time due to been closed down heavily and tight marked.

In the end the stats for the game looked like this

That's right one shot for Barcelona and it wasn't even on target. How many times can you say you've seen that happen?

You'll notice that Barca's defensive players passing wasn't that great. This is because time after time the fullbacks were doing long balls into the channels due to been pegged back or having no options to pass to in the midfield.

which shouts did you used in this game?

[Cleon]

The shouts I normally use unless stated different

[James9]

Hi Cleon would a player with 12 agility, 13 pace and 12 acceleration be good for the Treq role. I have a striker which is quite physical and has the PPM plays with back to goal. Would like to get your feedback on this.

[lam]

What else does he have and who are you playing against? Everything is relative.

[Cleon]

Hi Cleon would a player with 12 agility, 13 pace and 12 acceleration be good for the Treq role. I have a striker which is quite physical and has the PPM plays with back to goal. Would like to get your feedback on this.

If he plays with his back to goal and has low agility then he'll struggle when he has to do any kind of turning or change direction. He'll always be that half of yard behind. Plus if the wide players are faster than him, he simply wouldn't catch up with play depending on how you've set them up of course.

To be fair, he might be able to do the role well. But for how I've set up and the way I play he simply couldn't do it for me because it relies on fast movement. So depending on how you've set up and if you understand at times his agility will be an issue, you could make it work.

[Curly Like Colo]

Hey, just want to say what an excellent thread this is (along with the 12 step guide by wwfan) and how much it's helping me get over my previous football manager 'Download Tactic > Click Continue to Win' mentality. That said, much like braddockmatt did, I initially just copied the settings from the OP and hoped for the best which is clearly not in the spirit of the thread, but I think I'm getting the hang of it a little better now.

I've started a new game as Leverkusen, and like I said, initially tried to fit the players I had/bought in straight into the system instead of tweaking the system to fit the players available. What I need to do now is adjust to compensate for the differences in players. I don't have an outstanding candidate for Treq yet for example, though I'm retraining Rasmus Falk and he's doing a decent job.

Looking at the differences in squad strengths, creativity seems to be a big issue. My question is, is it better to tone down the overall 'More Expressive' setting on the team settings and manually adjust the slider for particularly creative players like Renato Augusto or Falk, or leave the team setting as it is and manually adjust some of the worst offenders for lack of creativity?

As an aside, Omer Toprak plays very well as the Ball Playing Defender, Decisions/Composure both 16, Passing 13. I'm sure I read above somewhere that people were looking for better options so if you have the means to prise him from Leverkusen then worth a look.

[tomtuck01]

Love the custom views Cleon. As you say, a bit messy though.

[JackDavies]

Anyone starting over and trying this tactic out, buy Anderson from Man Utd and play him in the MCL AP(A) role.

Brought him in for my West Brom team at January

[vasilli07]

Did you use counter for the Barca game?

[Cleon]

Hey, just want to say what an excellent thread this is (along with the 12 step guide by wwfan) and how much it's helping me get over my previous football manager 'Download Tactic > Click Continue to Win' mentality. That said, much like braddockmatt did, I initially just copied the settings from the OP and hoped for the best which is clearly not in the spirit of the thread, but I think I'm getting the hang of it a little better now.

I've started a new game as Leverkusen, and like I said, initially tried to fit the players I had/bought in straight into the system instead of tweaking the system to fit the players available. What I need to do now is adjust to compensate for the differences in players. I don't have an outstanding candidate for Treq yet for example, though I'm retraining Rasmus Falk and he's doing a decent job.

Looking at the differences in squad strengths, creativity seems to be a big issue. My question is, is it better to tone down the overall 'More Expressive' setting on the team settings and manually adjust the slider for particularly creative players like Renato Augusto or Falk, or leave the team setting as it is and manually adjust some of the worst offenders for lack of creativity?

As an aside, Omer Toprak plays very well as the Ball Playing Defender, Decisions/Composure both 16, Passing 13. I'm sure I read above somewhere that people were looking for better options so if you have the means to prise him from Leverkusen then worth a look.

Aye I'd drop the creativity down if your squad isn't capable

Love the custom views Cleon. As you say, a bit messy though.

Cheers mate

Did you use counter for the Barca game?

Yups I did.

[Dr. Hook]

Quick question for you, Cleon. There are times when I find that staying in counter is not generating enough going forward. It can be attacking, but on some days it just isn't happen. Do you shift strategy in match with this, or do you manage a more offensive outlook via the shouts?

[Cleon]

Quick question for you, Cleon. There are times when I find that staying in counter is not generating enough going forward. It can be attacking, but on some days it just isn't happen. Do you shift strategy in match with this, or do you manage a more offensive outlook via the shouts?

With the shouts I use I'm normally quite attacking nearly all the time.

Is it against specific teams you are struggling and tactics or is due to heavy rain? Sometimes in the rain you have to change the strategy because the pitch becomes heavier and its a lot harder to play counter on those types of pitches.

[James9]

Cleon my winger best positions is on the left and is preferred foot is left can I still play him as a inside forward on the left. I see that you play Gareth Bale on the left who also is left footed (I am playing fm 12 because I do not know if they have updated his preferred foot to either on fm 13). It seems to work with Bale on your game because he scores a lot of goals cutting in from the left. My player does not have Bales abilities but he his left footed and plays best as a AML. His finishing is 12 and crossing and dribbling is 15 each pace 16and acceleration 14. I would like to get your feedback on what you think about this and if I can play a left footed player on the left wing with cutting inside instructions.

[yonko]

Cleon,

How do you set up the man-marking? Is it still specific man-marking set through the player's individual instructions screen as in last year in your tactics?

Have you set up your attacking and defensive set-pieces or have you left them on default settings whatever the TC assigns them to?

Have you left the Trequartista as your playmaker?

Could you post a screen of the post-match analysis page from the game vs Barca? I'm interested in your passing, tackling, interceptions, average positions and movement from that game.

[Cleon]

Cleon my winger best positions is on the left and is preferred foot is left can I still play him as a inside forward on the left. I see that you play Gareth Bale on the left who also is left footed (I am playing fm 12 because I do not know if they have updated his preferred foot to either on fm 13). It seems to work with Bale on your game because he scores a lot of goals cutting in from the left. My player does not have Bales abilities but he his left footed and plays best as a AML. His finishing is 12 and crossing and dribbling is 15 each pace 16and acceleration 14. I would like to get your feedback on what you think about this and if I can play a left footed player on the left wing with cutting inside instructions.

Didn't I already answer this earlier in the thread? I'm pretty sure I did...

[Cleon]

Cleon,

How do you set up the man-marking? Is it still specific man-marking set through the player's individual instructions screen as in last year in your tactics?

Have you set up your attacking and defensive set-pieces or have you left them on default settings whatever the TC assigns them to?

Have you left the Trequartista as your playmaker?

Could you post a screen of the post-match analysis page from the game vs Barca? I'm interested in your passing, tackling, interceptions, average positions and movement from that game.

You can see all the settings I use in the screenshots, so you can see the marking I used etc.

The set pieces are still default, not really felt the need to work on the default ones in FM13 so far.

The Treq is the playmaker you can see this in the screenshots.....

When I get time I'll upload them

[Kingstontom88]

Just tried it with my Shrewsbury save and we won 4-0 away at league leaders Reading. Had struggled to keep possession lately and also create chances so was delighted with the change. I had to put my right back at normal full-back as he's not got good enough attacking traits to be a WB. Also dropped my right winger to support instead of attack to reduce the distance between him and the supporting full-back it worked well my forward had a field day. We also defended really well considering how goal friendly Reading are, they put plenty of crosses in and were threatening to start the game we had to dig in a bit but once we got the first goal they didn't threaten at all.

Will keep on with it and report back. Thanks for making this thread I hope it gets me out of my rut!

[rowan vine vine vine]

Always been a fan off counter attacking football, suck a team in then pow hit them with a sucker punch. I remember the old def counter tactic from around cm93ish that could be a pain. On fm12 I guided luton to the best I have ever done in all the versions ( I have played them all) multiple prem wins 9 European cups in a row. We were basicily the greatest team ever, I played two formations attack and defence. The attack would score lots but be prone to the odd slip up the defence was solid counter attacking but still devastating in attack. If teams tried having attacking they would be ripped to shreds. Brian Clough was a big fan of it and he achieved proberbly the greatest feet ever in English football. One that will never be equaled IMHO.

[RTHerringbone]

What was so special about Cloughie's feet?

[rowan vine vine vine]

Good old iPhones!

[Rashidi]

Here's a custom screen I use on the tactics panel when I need to decide who are gonna be my finishers.

The important qualities I look for and why:

Appearances, Goals and Assists: These are fairly self-explanatory, since these are finishers after all, appearances is there cos I limit my screen to only my starting squad. So I need to rotate my team at times.

Pace: Since I prefer playing a counter attacking football most of the time considering the fact that I am always rated as an underdog, I need my frontliners to have the pace to get the ball, if I had more space I would definitely add acceleration since I value this slightly higher. Acceleration is the quality that will make your inside forwards get past their man to score. So if you had to choose go for acceleration over pace.

Passing:Because I do a fair bit of tick tock when i get to the opponents box, passing is important to me especially when we are trying to work the ball around the opponents box.

Crossing: Because my subs bench is important, as I like to have to kinds of players available, the inside forward and the winger

Finishing: Duh

Composure: Bigger duh..now if you dont know which to prefer...if you choose finishing you are wrong.

First Touch : Important for tight games when you need to make sure they can bring those balls in control for taking first timers

Average Rating & Passing Rate: Need i explain the former? Passing Rate completion rate is important for me cos i need to make sure we hold the ball.

[Dr. Hook]

With the shouts I use I'm normally quite attacking nearly all the time.

Is it against specific teams you are struggling and tactics or is due to heavy rain? Sometimes in the rain you have to change the strategy because the pitch becomes heavier and its a lot harder to play counter on those types of pitches.

It was a specific team, and now that you mention it, a wet day. It was a home match, against a solid but not amazing opponent playing a basic 4-4-2, and I could get nothing going. One shot in 90 minutes, lost 1-0 after they scored a flukey goal in stoppage time. The counter just wasn't on, even with an adantage in the midfield it wasn't working through the middle I didn't even consider that the weather might have been the culprit. I wasn't getting anywhere with shouts, so I probably should have tried moving up to standard or even attacking for a bit and gone more direct, even shifted to passing down the flanks to avoid the squishy middle of the pitch. Hmm, definitely something to think about when it comes up again (Scotland D1, so no doubt it will!)

[qadsawee79]

Cleon ... Very Nice thread as you usual congratulations and thanks for the effort .. I am really trying to build my own tactic for my Chelsea team which obviously 4-2-3-1. Because I am writing this question from my office i apologize for not having any screenshots. My question revolves around shouts ... I am really struggling with creating a combo so I took the liberty of borrowing your idea and try to see the effect. It is working pretty well although I sometimes struggle against weaker teams .. given the situation should i tamper with strategy or leave as it is ???

[Os]

I'm sorry Rashidi, I respect your fm abilities but your taste in skin colour combos leaves a lot to be desired.

[lam]

............. opponent playing a basic 4-4-2...........

I'm not sure how Cleon fares against a 442, in particular a wide setup. However I find that the space between all of the players in a wide 442 means that it is very difficult to close down effectively. A wide 442 has the players about as far apart from eachother as I think is possible in the game. I end up chasing ghosts when I "Hassle" them.

When I play against this, I do NOT use the "hassle" shout and I turn my closing down to default. I will almost certainly mark one, if not both, of their MC's.

Regqards

LAM

[lam]

*****double post*****

[Cleon]

It was a specific team, and now that you mention it, a wet day. It was a home match, against a solid but not amazing opponent playing a basic 4-4-2, and I could get nothing going. One shot in 90 minutes, lost 1-0 after they scored a flukey goal in stoppage time. The counter just wasn't on, even with an adantage in the midfield it wasn't working through the middle I didn't even consider that the weather might have been the culprit. I wasn't getting anywhere with shouts, so I probably should have tried moving up to standard or even attacking for a bit and gone more direct, even shifted to passing down the flanks to avoid the squishy middle of the pitch. Hmm, definitely something to think about when it comes up again (Scotland D1, so no doubt it will!)

Yups you could also try going more direct with the passing and see if that helps

Cleon ... Very Nice thread as you usual congratulations and thanks for the effort .. I am really trying to build my own tactic for my Chelsea team which obviously 4-2-3-1. Because I am writing this question from my office i apologize for not having any screenshots. My question revolves around shouts ... I am really struggling with creating a combo so I took the liberty of borrowing your idea and try to see the effect. It is working pretty well although I sometimes struggle against weaker teams .. given the situation should i tamper with strategy or leave as it is ???

Well it depends. If there isn't much space and they are been compact then I'd use the 'pass into space' shout and 'push higher up' and see how that went.

I'm sorry Rashidi, I respect your fm abilities but your taste in skin colour combos leaves a lot to be desired.

It's horrid isn't it

I'm not sure how Cleon fares against a 442, in particular a wide setup. However I find that the space between all of the players in a wide 442 means that it is very difficult to close down effectively. A wide 442 has the players about as far apart from eachother as I think is possible in the game. I end up chasing ghosts when I "Hassle" them.

When I play against this, I do NOT use the "hassle" shout and I turn my closing down to default. I will almost certainly mark one, if not both, of their MC's.

Regqards

LAM

I agree with this. If you try and retain your initial shape then you should pick them apart. But if you try to hassle them you'll get stretched yourself and make it easier for them to play though you.

[lam]

As Cleon knows..... I'm a 442 man at heart, but taking the risk and trying something new in this generation of the game has really highlighted so many things to me......

I can almost pick out where my individual players are lacking now (Agility and Balance are your friends) but also, the pro's and cons of other formations.

Even being a 442 lover AND playing with it wide most of the time, I never noticed how much it can stretch the opposition. It may not have been so obvious on FM12, but here it sticks out like a sore thumb...........

[Curly Like Colo]

Aye I'd drop the creativity down if your squad isn't capable

Thanks.. I'm having better results but it still sometimes feels like I'm winning purely because of having a better squad than most if the division. When I played Dortmund away I got humped and didn't really know what to change. It also seems that even with lowered freedom, Schurrle likes missing great chances. I'd think if the team were creating the chances for him the tactic is working, but even with low composure he shouldn't really be missing three CCCs in a match.

[Keyzer Soze]

Hi,

i have a little question.

in terms of combos in the wings, is it better Wingback + Inside Foward or Fullback + Inside Foward?

[lam]

With low composure, those are precisly the chances he will miss. Three is excessive, but that is the point about counting them as CCC's. They were clear cut chances and he missed them

I find it's the same with Adebeyor. Whip in a cross with massive pace and he'll volley it into the goal from a tight angle with a ferocious stirke that no keeper in the world will change. However, get two men clear of the defence, put in a nice little sidways pass for a tap in and he'll hoof it over the bar...... and he does it a lot...... .12 composure. (and that is what I have just started training for the next three months).

[lam]

There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two, so, at least for me, it is purely down to the player. Wingbacks are asked to play more throughballs and to Cross from the byline more often, where as Fullbacks make less throughballs and tend to cross from mixed or deep.

So, does your player have the pace or dribbling skills to get to the byline? Does he have the passing ability to make decent throughballs? If yes, then stick with WB, if not, opt for the FB.

The bigger question, which you'll get to when you decide whether it's FB or WB is to use (A) or (S)................ and again, in this tactic, it isn't about them getting forwards, it's about their starting position and HOW they get forwards.

[Keyzer Soze]

There isn't a whole lot of difference between the two, so, at least for me, it is purely down to the player. Wingbacks are asked to play more throughballs and to Cross from the byline more often, where as Fullbacks make less throughballs and tend to cross from mixed or deep.

So, does your player have the pace or dribbling skills to get to the byline? Does he have the passing ability to make decent throughballs? If yes, then stick with WB, if not, opt for the FB.

The bigger question, which you'll get to when you decide whether it's FB or WB is to use (A) or (S)................ and again, in this tactic, it isn't about them getting forwards, it's about their starting position and HOW they get forwards.

Thks for the quick reply Lam... and also thks for the 100 questions/doubts you just put into my head!

[lam]

Now if I just asked for your player and then gave you answer...... would that have been fun? (for me I mean )

That said, if you had perfect players for either my natural choice would be the WB. Whipped in crosses from the byline have a nice habit of ending up in the net whether my team or theirs put them there.

But, unless you're happy with your team trying to do things that they are not good at, pick the role most suited to the player, unless it breaks the tactic up.

When I play Vert on the flank, I tend to use WB(S) and if there is a gap that is being exploited due to having a lower mentality, then I'll manually adjust that OR move back to (A) and then remove crossing instructions (Vert cant cross).

One thing that is worth bearing in mind..... If you're NOT trying to pick one of your own players out amongst a mass of others then a fantastic cross skills isn't necessary. Sure it's great if you can get it, but Insigne, who both Cleon and I have, has a crossing of 10, yet his crossing often finds the net one way or another. For me, Crossing is just as much about getting in a decent position to cross as it is having the crossing ability.

LAM

[lam]

This is probably a perfect opportunity to highlight something else that has certainly come to light for me in this version of the ME and that is the important of once brushed over physical skills.

You've probably seen Cleon and I harp on about the importance of AGILITY. Well, as I progress through more and more games, this skill becomes more and more important, but here I want to highlight where even having a 'good' rating in Agility still isn't enough.

Firstly though, he is the manual definition of Agility:

Agility reflects how well a player can start, stop, and move in different directions at varying levels of speed (pace). It ties in with the Pace, Acceleration and Balance attributes as they work together in the match engine, especially when a player is running with the ball.

Now I want to link to a thread that a forum LEGEND wrote. Now he wrote it for a very different reason, but he does highlight this skills and the importance of it, and I am highlighting a similar thing.

SFrasers link to Injuries and Agility (amongst other skills).

In this thread, SFraser highlights some skills he feels are of vital importance in avoiding injuries and for me, in this ME, it is as though SI read this thread and thought it sounds great and built an engine based on Agility (clearly not the case).

Anyhows, in the thread SFraser highlights how important Agility is for a player; giving the player the ability to turn on a sixpence..... and the faster the player, the more important the skill becomes.

In my save Bale starts with 14 agility..... good enough right? Well, no, not really, not when you have an acceleration of 18 and pace of 17, the later being more relevant to this post. Bale is blisteringly fast down the flank, but the major issue I have with him is that the vast majority of his crosses end up in the side netting, not over the goal, not way behind it, but into the side netting, which makes sense as when you cross at pace the ball tends to still have your momentum.

Despite his outstanding ability to get into space and his very good crossing ability of 15, he only has Cross completion of 19%. This isn't just because he doesn't try that many and fails. He has had 106 attempts in fifteen games and only 21 have found their mark.

The issue he has is that he can't stop running. He speeds down the line, into space and..... simply runs out of it(space that is) and then has to rush in a cross at the last possible second. At 14, his Agility is just to low for his pace. Therefore he is always trying to make crosses whilst he still has lots of forward momentum.

Compare this to Insigne, who only has a crossing rating of 10 (yup, that low), but who's acceleration and pace is lower at 16 and 15 but has an agility of 17...... his crossing ratio is 36% completion.

Insigne Agility is roughly 10% better than his average acceleration and pace, where as Bales is 20% worse.

I have since improved Bales Agility and his crossing has improved, not dramatically, but enough to prove my theory. I will continue to train his agility ideally to 17, which will also help his running game too.

Regards

LAM

[Curly Like Colo]

With low composure, those are precisly the chances he will miss. Three is excessive, but that is the point about counting them as CCC's. They were clear cut chances and he missed them

I find it's the same with Adebeyor. Whip in a cross with massive pace and he'll volley it into the goal from a tight angle with a ferocious stirke that no keeper in the world will change. However, get two men clear of the defence, put in a nice little sidways pass for a tap in and he'll hoof it over the bar...... and he does it a lot...... .12 composure. (and that is what I have just started training for the next three months).

Always assumed composure was more focused towards chances where you only had a split second to react.. but its the opposite. Given Schurrle has composure 9 do you think I should get rid and retrain someone with more composure, but less finishing/pace?

[Cleon]

Always assumed composure was more focused towards chances where you only had a split second to react.. but its the opposite. Given Schurrle has composure 9 do you think I should get rid and retrain someone with more composure, but less finishing/pace?

Someone with low composure will have his decision making rushed. This forces him to pick the wrong decision, get phased and become flustered so to speak.

[Rashidi]

lol I will take my ugly taste in skins..cant really find a dark one that works for me yet ;-( so i am open to sexy looking skins..but erm...do it quick before we go off topic. One other thing...whilst I agree wholeheartedly that people should analyse their game as much as they would like. I strongly encourage people to keep it simple. After a while you should just be zeroing in on specific areas on how you want your tactic to play.

All the attribute and performance chasing numbers dont help. Keep it simple. Do you want your tactic to play with great wingers? Then find players with a good foot for crossing and acceleration to beat the cross..then just see how they do. If they dont do well, dont just assume its the player, learn how to look at the tactic, and most importantly look at their ratings. If their ratings are 7 and >, then they are playing well. So it could be your own tactic. Its really hard to balance things out, and its even harder sometimes with the tactical creator. I do understand the frustrations of people who are coming in to the game new. The best advice anyone can give is keep it simple, dont try elaborate crazy tactics till you see your team doing well with something basic, at least the manager. Once you get to grips with the choosing the right person for the job, thats 50% done, then its 30% your tactic, and finally the last 20% is what you do during the match. What you do during the match doesnt make a huge difference. It does increase the odds. What it doesnt do is a major swing.

The shouts, opposition instructions, these make small changes to the game. They arent the secret to your success. Your success will come from combining training, choosing players and making a sensible tactic. I will always recommend starting with Balanced strategies first..believe me attacking isnt for everyone. Balanced at least allows you to see how your team does then you make the adjustments.

[Cleon]

This is probably a perfect opportunity to highlight something else that has certainly come to light for me in this version of the ME and that is the important of once brushed over physical skills.

You've probably seen Cleon and I harp on about the importance of AGILITY. Well, as I progress through more and more games, this skill becomes more and more important, but here I want to highlight where even having a 'good' rating in Agility still isn't enough.

Firstly though, he is the manual definition of Agility:

Agility reflects how well a player can start, stop, and move in different directions at varying levels of speed (pace). It ties in with the Pace, Acceleration and Balance attributes as they work together in the match engine, especially when a player is running with the ball.

Now I want to link to a thread that a forum LEGEND wrote. Now he wrote it for a very different reason, but he does highlight this skills and the importance of it, and I am highlighting a similar thing.

SFrasers link to Injuries and Agility (amongst other skills).

In this thread, SFraser highlights some skills he feels are of vital importance in avoiding injuries and for me, in this ME, it is as though SI read this thread and thought it sounds great and built an engine based on Agility (clearly not the case).

Anyhows, in the thread SFraser highlights how important Agility is for a player; giving the player the ability to turn on a sixpence..... and the faster the player, the more important the skill becomes.

In my save Bale starts with 14 agility..... good enough right? Well, no, not really, not when you have an acceleration of 18 and pace of 17, the later being more relevant to this post. Bale is blisteringly fast down the flank, but the major issue I have with him is that the vast majority of his crosses end up in the side netting, not over the goal, not way behind it, but into the side netting, which makes sense as when you cross at pace the ball tends to still have your momentum.

Despite his outstanding ability to get into space and his very good crossing ability of 15, he only has Cross completion of 19%. This isn't just because he doesn't try that many and fails. He has had 106 attempts in fifteen games and only 21 have found their mark.

The issue he has is that he can't stop running. He speeds down the line, into space and..... simply runs out of it(space that is) and then has to rush in a cross at the last possible second. At 14, his Agility is just to low for his pace. Therefore he is always trying to make crosses whilst he still has lots of forward momentum.

Compare this to Insigne, who only has a crossing rating of 10 (yup, that low), but who's acceleration and pace is lower at 16 and 15 but has an agility of 17...... his crossing ratio is 36% completion.

Insigne Agility is roughly 10% better than his average acceleration and pace, where as Bales is 20% worse.

I have since improved Bales Agility and his crossing has improved, not dramatically, but enough to prove my theory. I will continue to train his agility ideally to 17, which will also help his running game too.

Regards

LAM

A quality post and something majority of people haven't even thought about before I bet?

I'm thinking after xmas of re-visiting the attributes again like I did in the SI Sports Centre thread.